Wales ditch the symptom but not the cause of crisis

It is the end of an error. If news of Warren Gatland's axing came as a surprise in terms of timing, then the conclusion that the Wales head coach's position was untenable was one that many had reached long before the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) pulled the trigger two rounds into the Six Nations.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

For these have been two years of strife and struggle the like of which Welsh rugby has never really known. Since Gatland's return for a second stint in charge of the men's national team in December of 2022, the WRU have lurched from calamity to calamity and review to review, never seeming to escape the perma-crisis that has engulfed the national game. Despite a mid-tournament announcement, this is no knee-jerk decision.

First, there was the threat of Six Nations strikes and then repeated allegations of a toxic, sexist culture at the union. Of late, increasingly poor onfield performances have been combined with baffling internal and external communication, particularly a professional structure that appears unfit for providing the throughput of players required to compete internationally. Gatland has repeatedly emphasised that the success of the national side he took to great heights during his first tenure in Cardiff papered over cracks - since his return, Wales have fallen repeatedly into the widening crevasses now obvious for all to see.

Gatland is clearly a symptom and not the cause of his side's decline, but that does not mean his treatment is unjust. Questions will always, naturally, be asked of a head coach who oversees 14 defeats in succession - Gatland has not answered those posed to him particularly well. His selections have been baffling at times: Ben Thomas, a promising inside centre, has been tasked with playing fly-half in this campaign while an experienced 10 in Gareth Anscombe twiddles his thumbs. Players of real promise like Cameron Winnett and Max Llewellyn have been cast aside even within a youth movement executed with a promise of future success.